I welcome the fact of the engagement we had on this plan. The affordable housing scheme is something that needs to be prioritised. It is my generation that is facing the consequences of the decisions of past Governments. I am supporting this Government in the hope it will listen to me. I know it has in regards to the cabins of the back of gardens but the other thing that really needs to be done is to address the red tape and bureaucracy. It is said across this House but are we just saying words or are we actually g…

The war in Sudan is the forgotten war. It is just like the conflict; it has slipped from public consciousness. I am really grateful we are doing these statements today as it is something we should be focusing on. The Minister of State has been giving his attention to this and I have spoken to him about it. I am very happy he has been addressing it in the way he can but this is one of the worst humanitarian disasters occurring at the moment, in line with the genocide in Palestine. A total of 13 million people have b…

I acknowledge Deputy Stanley for bringing forward this Bill. It is constructive legislation that seeks to strike a balance. As other Members stated, delivering clean, renewable energy will ensure fairness. As I was sitting here, I heard a Deputy say that the regional Independents are against renewable energy. I was in negotiations for Government. We secured key steps for private wires and renewable developments relating to data centres. As a qualified engineer with a master's degree in sustainability, while we were…

Regarding the cross-Border organisation Foras na Gaeilge, if it had the same growth as the Arts Council, Foras na Gaeilge's budget would now be €50 million. Instead of that, níl sé ach €17 milliún. I welcome the raise in the recent budget to Foras na Gaeilge's funding, but how will the Taoiseach ensure that this additional funding is made available, given that 25% of it is from the North?

Bhí mé ag caint faoi seo dhá sheachtain ó shin agus an tseachtain seo caite. An rud atá i gceist ná Stapolin Educate Together National School in Baldoyle, which has a petition. Children from the school were in the Dáil last week. It needs two autism classrooms to be sanctioned by the Minister. There are eight children in mainstream classes with eligibility letters and a further 30 in the catchment area who are on waiting lists. This is a huge priority for me and I would love it to be addressed.

I am also delighted to speak on this. When I went for election this time last year, I was one of the only TDs in north Dublin who mentioned immigration and migration on my leaflets. In that, and the mandate I was elected on, was a fair, compassionate immigration system that led communication with communities and the Government and had no tolerance for racism. The people of north Dublin elected me on that mandate and I have continuously worked on it. Ireland has always participated in these funds. They have helped u…

I want to raise a big issue in north Dublin, namely the Oscar Traynor Centre. I also want to raise the Northside swimming pool, which has been closed. The Oscar Traynor Centre is a grassroots football centre built by people in Coolock and Kilmore. Why and how was it effectively handed over to a professional club when local clubs have been effectively cut out? Hundreds of young girls and boys cannot use the centre now. Why was it sold for a fraction of its valuated price? I would love the Tánaiste to look into this.…

How many Troy Parrotts will not develop because of this?

I would like to join with Deputy Gogarty's point about the emails we get. We all get thousands of emails about what we need to do, but we also get the negative ones from the other side. After I came back from my humanitarian mission, I can sympathise with the Deputy about how there is a strong lobby against this. We have to really focus on this. The decision should be straightforward. When I was sitting over there, I was supporting the Government. I still am. I was told that if we amended it, it would be done withi…

I have raised the issue of water quality in Dublin Bay time and time again. I am not going to just single out the north side. This is a north and south Dublin problem. We saw the rain that fell at the weekend. We have all seen the drone footage of the bay being polluted. I have swimmers whose only way of socialising is getting into that water and having the chats but the E. coli levels are not acceptable at the moment. In Dublin Bay and with the way the plumes work with the tides, the north side is affected worse w…

When we talk about strategy or security policy, we have to begin thinking about the reality of this war. I have friends who have come from Ukraine and friends whose families are still in Ukraine. According to the United Nation’s report, and I am sure the Minister of State is well-aware of this as I have spoken to him about it before, the number of civilian casualties - this is something we are seeing across the world, that is, civilians being drawn into wars they had nothing to do with starting - is devastating. Si…

I also wish to raise the issue of the 123 service. Multiple constituents, in particular the elderly and people with disabilities, are very upset about the change. They had a routine set as to where the bus was ending, but now there has been a change, not only of the bus number but also the destination. I welcome that the Minister of State will look into this. These people are set in their ways. They really liked what was there and they are upset about the current status. Deputy Ó Muirí and I receive the exact same …

I rise to speak about transport across my constituency, especially regarding the DART and to see overall investment in the DART train stations in Clontarf, Killester, Harmonstown and Raheny and up to Clongriffin and out to Howth. There is a huge need for investment. I understand there is going to be a large investment going in. My issue is that I was at multiple meetings of residents and they had not been consulted on the current changes to the platforms. This is the matter I would like to raise.

I thank the Minister of State very much for that reply. A lot of the DART stations on the northside are currently not updating their social media quickly when lifts are unavailable to let people with accessibility issues know this is the case. They then get off at the station, and have to go through the process of getting to another station. In relation to what I said about the Donaghmede estate residents, we have changes going on in the Donaghmede-Howth Junction station. Iarnród Éireann has insisted it did a leafl…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit and I appreciate that he will address that. It is ridiculous that when it comes to the next election, it is politicians who will be taking the brunt on public transport, as the Minister of State knows himself. When I send an email, from the office of a Deputy, I do not get a response from Iarnród Éireann asking for a clear date and time of when a drop happened. The northside has been neglected for far too long. I do not know if it was previous TDs on the northside who went fighti…

Bhí an tAire ag rá rud éigin ansin faoi bheith ag caint faoi dhaoine le míchumais, or people with disabilities. One of the things we could definitely do in this House would be to allow the wage subsidy scheme to be taken on by Deputies and Senators, in a sense that it would give people with disabilities easier access to policymakers. My parliamentary assistant, Michael Reynolds, has a disability. We tried to get the wage subsidy scheme but were told "No". If we could allow people in this House to employ people with…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire agus gabhaim leithscéal leis. Bhí orm é sin a rá tar éis an chomhrá sin. The reason I posed my second question is because many families and people with disabilities in my constituency have been telling me that even a small amount of work or training can push them over the threshold, which creates a barrier rather than an incentive to work. Saoirse Smith, who I have met multiple times, is considering not working because she thinks she will be better off. She is currently planning her we…

I appreciate the update on the work the Minister is doing and the meetings we have had. The issue is that the existing threshold does not reflect the hidden cost of disability, which has been mentioned by Deputies across the House this morning, or the medical, transport and energy costs people face. I welcome the fact that the Minister has been carrying out a consultation. We need to modernise the system but we also need to give people confidence that taking up work will not leave them worse off. I would welcome th…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Farrelly for tabling this. I am in full support of it. One of the main reasons is taxation without representation. If we are not going to give young people the chance to vote, are we going to make them exempt from taxes at the age of 15, 16 or 17? When I started work, I was on €6.06 an hour at the age of 15, but I was not able to vote until the age of 21. The thing I am trying to say is that the way the general election falls can make a huge difference here. When I knock on doors in…

Is there an update or timeline from the Cabinet committee on disability on assessments of need? In my own constituency, Stapolin Educate Together primary school is looking for two additional autism classes. It has a very powerful image of 12 chairs outside that school representing children locked out. I would urge the Taoiseach push-----